While workers try to douse a smoldering coal refuse fire in Fell Twp. before it becomes impossible to extinguish, the Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a mine fire in Carbondale.

Clouds of sulphurous smoke that reeks of rotten eggs marks the fire in Fell Twp., which started on a culm dump on private land off Jefferson Street. Jim Carey, site foreman with Minichi Inc., said his crew is trying to douse the month-old surface fire before it spreads to a nearby coal seam. The company was contracted by the state Department of Environmental Protection to put it out.

If the fire spreads to a coal seam and gets out of control, it could burn for years, as the Powderly mine fire in Carbondale did for almost 60 years.

The fire above Russell Park was contained in the 1990s by the DEP's Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation. The department created a trench around the smoldering remains, but the fire has since jumped that trench and is now actively burning.

DEP is currently investigating the active mine fire and plans to bid out work to completely extinguish the fire, said the department's northeast region spokeswoman, Colleen Connolly.

Carbondale Mayor Justin Taylor said DEP crews discovered the fire escaped its confines a few months back when visiting the area to investigate a stolen chain link fence that surrounded the trench. The mine fire is partly in the city, partly in Carbondale Twp.

"It's in a completely remote area with no danger to anyone," he said.

Over in Fell Twp., Ms. Connolly said the coal refuse fire's surface is now roughly 200 feet long by 200 feet wide. DeNaples Inc. owns the land, she said.

Mr. Carey estimated the fire extends 15 to 20 feet below the surface, though no one knows for sure yet.

To put it out, Minichi will have to dig out 195,000 cubic yards of culm, then dump water on it, Ms. Connolly said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Minichi workers were digging a retention pond to keep water used in putting out the fire from running off into the Lackawanna River.

As an excavator dug the pond, a bulldozer pushed culm out of the way, digging what Mr. Carey called a slit trench.

Smoldering culm can be dumped in the trench and doused with water to put it out. "In all, it's going to be a dreadfully smokey and steam-filled experience," he said. He estimated it could take two to three weeks to put out the fire.

Ms. Connolly said the DEP has known about the fire since mid-December. She said the department monitored the fire for a few weeks before deciding in early January to move to fix it.

Grattan Singer Hose Co. No. 1 Chief Joe Unis said he called the DEP to tell them about the problem in mid-December. He thinks it started from someone lighting tires on fire, which happened twice on the property last fall.

Clouds of smoke and steam obscured all vision at the top of the culm dump. The smoke drifted south down the Lackawanna Valley, where a cluster of homes stand on either side of Jefferson Street.

Lori Demas has lived in one of them for eight years. Two weeks ago, she installed carbon monoxide meters in her home, at the recommendation of local fire officials.

"If you're just standing on our porch, you can see the haze and you can smell it, especially when it blows this way," she said. She hopes the crew can put it out soon.

"Until then, we're kind of in limbo," she said.

Last week, the DEP awarded Minichi a $741,000 contract for the project, Ms. Connolly said. The Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, drawn from fees levied on the modern coal industry, was the source of the money.

After the fire is out, Ms. Connolly said the department's plan is to level the land, then cover it with grass seed.

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